Christmas Eve
by sorakazuma
Summary: A Holiday story sat in X791, featuring the couplings of Jerza, Gruvia and Nalu. Lucy ends up blindsided by Natsu's proposal to go out on Christmas Eve and in a moment of panic drags Juvia and Erza along with her.


Fairy Tail: Christmas Eve

Jellal x Erza, Natsu x Lucy, Gray x Juvia

_Merry Christmas to all my friends, followers, and fellow Fairy Tail fans!_

Erza was enjoying her morning Danish when a pair of hands slammed down on the table on either side of her plate. The small piece of china leapt in the air and the redhead scrambled to grab it, but alas, couldn't save the last piece of her frosted pastry.

Dark eyes lifted, instantly ablaze. "You better have a- …Lucy?"

The blonde was staring at her with wavering brown eyes and flushed cheeks. "I need you to go out with me tonight!"

"Why?" The armor mage sat back. "Is everything okay?"

She shook her head furiously. "I…." She glanced around the guild hall. "I can't talk about it here. Can we go outside?"

"Of course." Erza was more than intrigued by this point… she was starting to be worried. The two ducked outside and headed around to the open side of the building where Lucy proceeded to gush about what was bothering her.

"Natsu ASKED YOU OUT?" The redhead's mouth fell open.

"I was so surprised that I just kind of blurted 'yes' at him. We're supposed to meet in Magnolia at 6pm tonight and I don't know what to do." She replied, twisting the hem of her sweater into knots.

"I want to say he's too stupid for something like this, but he was surprisingly aware of his relationship with Lisanna before. Are you sure this isn't some ploy to get you on a mission on Christmas Eve?" Erza crossed her arms.

"It could be…" Lucy swallowed. "But he specifically told me that he wanted to take me to the festival in town tonight." Her big brown eyes lifted. "You have to come with me so this won't be awkward."

"Don't you think it WILL be awkward if it really is supposed to be a date..?" Erza sweatdropped.

"Bring Jellal with you!" Lucy's face lit up. "That way if it IS a date, it can be a double date!"

"W-What does he have to do with this?" Erza froze up at the mere mention of his name. "A-And if it's not a date?"

"Then just tell him you're going on a mission on Christmas Eve…" Lucy replied slyly.

"HELL NO!" The redhead flushed, raising her voice and the blonde momentarily cowered.

"Um…" The two turned to see a pair of blue eyes skulking from the side of the building. "Juvia would like to go, if you don't mind…" She piped up. "I'll bring Gray!" She replied as if it were already a done deal.

"See there you go. Go with Gray and Juvia." Erza replied, trying to get out of this and still salvage her composure.

"Please Erza!" Lucy stared at her. "We can all go! Pllleeeeaaassseeee!"

Juvia sided closer. "I heard in town today that they're doing the lighting of the Christmas tree in front of town hall tonight at 8. And if you happen to see the lighting with the one you like they say that you'll be blessed with a strong love throughout the new year!" She fidgeted, her eyes going dreamy. "That's why I HAVE to go with Gray!"

"R-Really?!" Lucy started turning red now.

Erza put a hand on her hip. "You've convinced me." She said smugly. "I WILL go to the lighting of the tree."

"I'm all the more convinced I don't want to go…" Lucy swallowed, still not sure what she was getting herself into.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close. It was Erza, with a determined fiery look that usually meant trouble for someone. "Oh. You're going."

And so it was with a threat and a madly beating heart that Lucy tore through her closet that afternoon, looking for something worthy of being first-date material. It was Natsu, she had to remind herself. He had seen her in pretty much everything and anything so trying to impress him with clothing was a moot point. She decided on a cream-colored sleeveless sweater dress with khaki leggings, fur-lined ankle boots completing the ensemble.

"Cancer, will you do my hair?" She asked the celestial spirit once she had him summoned. "Something… elegant and Chrismasy."

"Of course, ebi~" He smiled, and sat right away to combing and curling her hair until the elaborate updo was complete and her long golden locks were pinned to the side of her head with spiraling twists just barely touching her shoulders.

Admiring herself in the mirror she smiled. "It's perfect. Thank you so much."

He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Take care-" and his classic catch phrase was inaudible as he faded back into the spirit world.

She nearly jumped when there was a knock at the door and she tried not to race to it. She patted her keyring on her hip, made sure she had her simple long-strapped handbag and then took in a deep breath before opening it.

Natsu was just about to knock again, his hand raised in the air. Black eyes blinked as he took her in and then he smiled that gorgeous smile of his. "Hey. You ready to go?"

She flashed him a nervous smile and nodded. He was wearing the usual attire, or something close to the usual attire… a black under shirt with his black and gold vest thrown over it, his beloved muffler, long white pants and his reliable sandals. His spiky cotton candy pink hair was in the same messy disarray and she was trying to remember if he had been in the same thing when she had seen him that morning.

It was overcast, but there was no snow on the ground yet and the streets were full of people all heading further downtown for the festival, or trying to finish their last-minute Christmas shopping. Lucy had gotten Natsu a gift a few weeks ago, but that was before all of this had happened. She had his present in her bag, but she wasn't sure what she should do now.

"You're being awfully quiet." He told her, his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"I-I was just wondering where Happy was." She stammered out. She had noticed the Exceed wasn't there from the moment he had arrived, but she found it was the perfect excuse now.

"He stayed back at the guild with Carla. Said he didn't want to intrude or something." Natsu replied.

Lucy looked over at him, her heart jumping into her throat, but he looked as oblivious as always.

Main street was lit up like the fourth of July. As soon as they turned the corner, the street was full to the brim of people, and every building, light post and free space was decorated in lights, holly and garland.

"Lucy."

At the call of her name she jerked her gaze over and saw Erza coming toward her. The redhead had chosen a low-cut top and a pleated skirt. Long dark stockings and Mary-Jane shoes completed her look and her long red hair was down, swaying behind her as she moved. Her jacket however was a military style pea coat of burgundy with polish black buttons and white fur trim. It looked like something Santa might very well wear himself, if he had a little more fashion sense.

"Ah, Erza!" Natsu beamed at her, before his dark eyes widened. "And Je- …Mystogan."

"Evening." The tall blue-haired man gave a small bow, most of his figure cloaked in his large tattered cape.

Erza sidled over to Lucy, rubbing up against her. "So I heard from Mira… there might actually be some truth to this legend. Apparently they light the tree using magic."

"R-Really." Lucy swallowed, glancing over at Natsu. If this worked, would they end up being together….really together?

"We're here too!"

The voice that came through the crowd made them turn to see Juvia barreling toward them, yanking Gray by the arm. She was outfitted in her usual fur-trimmed navy coat, her powder blue hair free from its large curls to spill around her shoulders. Gray was wearing his white trenchcoat with the crisscrossed straps for now, but Lucy got the sneaking suspicion he would probably be bare-chested by the end of the night.

"Will you-" he snarled and then batted his dark blue eyes. "What are you all doing here?"

"Just kind of met up here." Natsu smiled.

"Agreed." Jellal gave a small nod.

The women exchanged a glance. Well at least none of their respective partners knew this had all been planned.

"Well since we have met up, let's enjoy it!" Lucy exclaimed.

They started walking down the street towards City Hall, darting inside shops and taking a look at vendors that had lined the street here. They stopped at the coffee shop to get hot drinks and then continued onwards up the lane.

"Mystogan, how do you end up drinking that?" Natsu asked, walking backwards to stare at the man behind him.

"Very carefully." Jellal replied, lifting the cup up behind the confinement of the bandana across his face.

Natsu stared hard. "Did you just take a drink?"

Amber brown eyes stared at him, trying not to show how amused he really was. "Yep."

"I didn't even see the cloth move! Do it again! It must be magic!" He asked, not realizing that all Jellal had to do was tilt his face into the cup and he could take a sip without really moving at all.

"Idiots are moved by the simplest of things." Gray shrugged when Lucy shook her head, stepping up beside her to fill in Natsu's spot.

"Yeah he certainly is special." Lucy rolled her eyes.

Her choice of words made the ice mage tilt his head to look at her, his dark blue hues taking her in. "You look cute tonight."

She stared over at him in surprise. "Thanks Gray…?"

"Gray!" Juvia scoffed, her blue eyes going wide.

He shrugged. "Just saying." He smiled at her. "I wish you luck." And at that he backed off.

Lucy shifted the strap on her handbag and fidgeted with the cardboard sleeve on the coffee cup trying not to blush. She tossed the cup in the nearest trash can and folded her fingers together, trying not to feel happy from his doting words.

"Oh hey!" Natsu was beside her again. "That place there looks cool!"

Lucy lifted her gaze and felt her heart skip a beat. It was the jewelry shop where she had gotten his gift. The place was busy for the occasion, but the wide stands in the front windows were lit up and had large dragon statues perched on the levels of mahogany wood.

"Oh yeah, totally going in there!" The dragon slayer was practically jumping up and down.

"I have to go get Juvia." Gray called to him. "She just walked off across the street."

"I think Mystogan and I are going to head further down." Erza told him. "You two go ahead; we'll meet up around the tree, alright?"

"Sounds good." Natsu grinned. "Later guys!" He snatched up Lucy's wrist in his hand. "Come on, let's go!" He exclaimed, all too eager to check out the shop.

This time Lucy couldn't help but blush as they ducked inside. Her fingers curled in Natsu's palm, wrapping around the side of his hand and he looked back at her with that warm smile of his that always made butterflies spring loose from the pit of her stomach.

"Oh." Natsu glanced around, looking at the interior of the building. Large cases with glass fronts and tops lined the walls, with people hovering in front of them staring down into the lighted containers. "It's actually rather boring looking in here."

Lucy breathed an inner sigh of relief. She didn't want him to see what she had gotten him before he had actually opened his present. That was until he let go of her hand.

"U-Um… Natsu?"

Curiosity had gotten the better of him and he mingled closer to one of the cases. Jewelry might hold little meaning to most men, but it was still shiny and Natsu was one of those simple people who was distracted by shiny things.

"Hi there!" The cute little sales attendant welcomed him. "All of our jewelry is made here exclusively at this store by our master artist!" She informed him. "Let me know if you see anything that you like."

"Do you have any dragons?!" Natsu asked, his dark eyes completely entranced with the sculptured pieces of metal.

"Of course." She beamed at him. "Right over here."

Lucy felt numb watching the whole display unfold and completely unsure of how to proceed from here. She heard Natsu cry out in delight of the dragons they made into necklaces, rings and bracelets and closed her eyes. Ducking outside back into the cold air, she leaned against the stone wall by the door. Her hands reached into her purse and she pulled out the small hinged jewelry box. Flipping up the lid, her dark eyes stared at the coppery rose-gold drake soaring across the puffy filler material they had rested him against. She had special ordered this one specifically so it was a little different than the others but now she didn't even feel like giving him away. The surprise had been ruined in her mind, and she had no idea if Natsu would even like him now that he had seen the place.

She had no idea how he felt about her either. She was having fun but aside from him being overly pushy sometimes it wasn't like they got close. He didn't appear nervous or over confident like she'd seen most guys act when they were trying to court a girl. No Natsu was being typical normal Natsu, which led her to believe this whole night was nothing special on his account at all.

Her nose was starting to run and she sniffled, the freezing air starting to get to her. She rubbed at her eyes and felt wetness there and gave a small huff. Fantastic." She fussed. "My mascara's going to run at this rate."

"Lucy?"

The call of her name made her crane her head. There was Natsu coming out of the shop, his hands still resting on the door he was holding open. "Are you okay? Why are you out here?"

"I-It's nothing." She stammered, trying to wipe at her face and close the jewelry box with the flick of her fingers. The hinge was new though and stiff and the box jumbled in her hand, falling to the ground where it hit the concrete. She drew it a breath, praying the contents inside hadn't been hurt by the fall.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me." He smiled, letting the door fall closed so that he could kneel and scoop up the box. "What's this?"

The blonde dropped her hands, holding onto the strap of her bag simply to feel like she had control of something. "It's for you." She said softly.

"Me?" His raven eyes lifted, looking at her in surprise. He stood back up slowly and she got the feeling he was starting to grasp the situation. "Can… I open it?"

Knowing that he was watching her made her fidget. Her cheeks flushed and she dropped her gaze, giving another slow nod.

Natsu lifted the top slowly, his dark eyes widening. "Oh wow!" He pulled the pendant from the box, holding it by the thick red-tinted chain. "He is so cool!"

"I only knew the little things you had told me about Igneel," She stared over at him. "I hope he reminds you of him."

"Totally." Natsu was grinning from ear to ear. Without warning he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close hugging her tightly. "Thank you for thinking of me. This is the best Christmas present ever."

Lucy's chocolate brown eyes widened and she felt all of the air leave her lungs. He was strong and warm and she felt herself melt against him, her fingers slowly curling in the fabric of his clothing. "I just wanted to make you happy….that's all."

He lifted his face and pulled back some, his expression warm and gentle. "You always make me happy. It's why I like being with you." He smiled. "Oh, here, before I forget-"

He reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a very familiar looking jewelry box. "Here."

Lucy stared at him, taken back. "You… you bought me something?"

"It just reminded me of you." His smile quirked brighter.

Lucy pushed back the hinge. Knowing Natsu it could have been a letter opener or another dragon or something else that was ridiculous and manly, but no… the contents of the box held a gold bangle bracelet with scalloped edging, the intricate pieces curving into the center of the trinket to form the shape of a key.

"Natsu…" She gasped, staring up at him but he was grinning from ear to ear. She had seen the piece in the store a few times and had been admiring it. How did he know?

"You like it?" He asked, taking it from the box. He took her hand and slipped the bracelet around her wrist where it fit perfectly as if it had belonged there all its life.

"I-I don't know what to say…" She flushed, and then still realized he was holding his necklace. "Here."

She yanked lightly on the chain and he let go. Standing on her tip toes to reached the narrow distance between them, she clasped it around his neck so that the dragon fell against the soft cloth of his scarf. It seemed to glimmer in the lights and she smiled, her hands resting on his shoulders.

It took her a good minute to realize how close they were and that while she had been preoccupied with the beauty of the jewelry he had been staring down at her quietly, taking her in. His hand lifted and she flinched, moving away, but not before he caught her wrist, his thumb smoothing over her cool skin.

"Let's keep going." The playful tone had come back to his voice and she smiled brightly at him. "We have to find the others."

Her fingers curled into his. 'I'd follow you anywhere.' She found herself thinking but all she could do was giggle and nod as he took off with her in tow.

Meanwhile, Gray was having a bit of bad luck that was putting him in a foul mood. Juvia had practically been up his ass all day about coming to the festival with him, and then he turns away for two minutes and she's up and gone, taking off through the crowd.

He checked all over the main street, poked his head in just about every shop and still couldn't find her. It came to his realization that he never had this much trouble finding her because she was usually always two steps behind him. It was difficult to find someone who had no intention of wanting to be found.

He wanted to give up, but guilt was eating away at him. He had a feeling he knew what the problem was and it was his fault. Juvia had overheard him when he'd been complimenting Lucy earlier and that was right about the time that she had taken off.

He was still in disarray about how he felt about her…she forced him to rethink emotions entirely. He couldn't remember what it was like to have a close relationship with anyone and she was constantly there with her overwhelming affections that sometimes he felt he couldn't breathe.

Still, he'd never meant to hurt her, and on Christmas Eve no less.

He finally ducked off the main road and headed toward the park. He figured he'd cut across to the next street over which was still busy at this time of night when he saw her seated along the side of the canal, staring down at the water.

He should have figured she would go to something that was comforting to her.

"Why don't you just go home?" She didn't look up, her dark eyes hidden by her long wavy hair. "You didn't want to be here anyway, and even so, it wouldn't have been with me."

He said nothing, just wordlessly approached and sat down beside her as if that stated the obvious. He was still there so if she wanted to get what was off her chest he would at least listen.

Sure enough, if there was one thing he could count on it was for Juvia to be overly emotional. He saw her sway her feet and her shoulders trembled. Then she raised her head and her stardust eyes were red-rimmed from tears. "I'm sorry that I'm not as pretty as Lucy, okay!? You don't have to pretend like you want to spend time with me. I get it."

"Can you chill out?" He asked her, shifting toward her. "You're acting like I hate you or something and that's just ridiculous."

"Y-You… don't?" She batted her teary eyes at him.

He raked a hand through his raven hair. "There are things I like and dislike about you, just like everyone. Why does it have to be all or nothing with you? One minute you want me to love you and the next I supposedly hate you."

She tucked her knees up to her chest, looking down into the black shifting waters of the canal. "I want you to like everything there is about me." She murmured with a pout. "Because I love everything about you."

Gray was taken back. "You can't mean that. You don't know me that well."

She lifted her chin. "I know you better than you think you do." She challenged softly. "I watch you all the time."

He stared at her and she stared back and when it looked like she was going to open her mouth to start listing things he'd rather not have mentioned, he held up his hand. "Okay, I get it." He replied before turning his palm over so that ice began to form in the center. "Still, relationships are built on trust, right? You have to be able to trust me."

Her posture stiffened. "I do trust you!" She whined.

He clamped his other hand over the first, increasing the pressure and flow until he had a decent size ball of ice in his hand. Then he took a finger and began carving away at it as easy as a whittling knife could slice through wood. "Then you have to when I say I'm not interested in Lucy."

She gave him a skeptical look, and he shook his head slowly smiling. "Or rather…she's not interested in me. Too busy chasing after someone else and I'd rather not get involved so I gave up on that a long time ago." He shifted the sphere in his hands. "I'm still up on the single and free market."

"I wish you weren't." She pouted, her teary eyes fixated on watching him work.

His smile twitched wider. He had to admire her determination, he could give her that. When he could sit her down and actually talk to her, she was rather cute. She had such big dark eyes and her tears stuck to her long eyelashes like crystals.

"So what about you and Lyon?" He started after a long moment.

"W-What about us?" She lifted her gaze, staring at him. "We're just friends."

He was surprised at himself when he let out a short, bitter laugh. "You sure? Because I'm sure he doesn't see it that way."

She huffed, pushing back tendrils of her hair almost haughtily. "He's got completely the wrong idea then." She glanced over at him. "All I see is you."

Her words made his heart turn over and he blinked at her as if she had just cast some kind of magic. He forgot the other part about why he kept his distance from her. Being in her presence for too long caused his body to start acting all weird; his defenses caved in and he became startling aware of how he felt.

He leaned back and put some space between them, even though he was still seated a couple feet from her. He went back to his ice sculpture almost mindlessly, trying to stay focused. She rested her chin on her knees and tried to pretend she hadn't noticed him backing away.

"Juvia," He started after several minutes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmn, sure." She replied almost absentmindedly and he glanced toward her. She was staring up at the overcast sky as if waiting for something.

Gray swallowed against the awkward lump forming in his throat. "Why me?"

She batted her eyes and looked over at him.

"From the time I met you in Phantom all the way up to here, in X791, your feelings haven't changed. How do you know that I'm the right one…?"

She stared at him and a slow smile spread over her features. It was like watching the sunrise over the ocean. Her entire face lit up right up to her those dark deep eyes and for the first time in a long time Gray felt the hot annoying flush of warmth as he blushed.

"I just knew. The moment I saw you it hit me. My heart raced and I realized that you were perfect." She gave a small laugh. "And my thoughts haven't changed much since then."

He looked away, panicking at the thought of her seeing him so embarrassed. He was at a loss. He stood up slowly, trying to regain his composure. "We should probably get going if we're going to meet everyone over to the tree."

Juvia sat back. "Y-You still want to go? W-With me?"

He was searching for the right thing to say until he looked down and realized that steeping in all his thoughts had forced him into carving a small heart out of the block of ice. He stared at his palm in horror, resisting the urge to crush it between his fingers entirely. After a moment's hesitation he turned and offered it to the water mage who was slowly getting to her feet.

"F-For me?" Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. Her dainty fingers scraped against his skin, leaving the tingling sensation of warmth behind as they picked up the tiny trinket.

Gray couldn't look her in the face so he simply started walking. "Don't hold onto it too tight… you might break it." He replied, not really knowing what he was saying.

Juvia smiled, cupping it in her palm. "I promise Gray," she started gently as she started after him. "I'll be careful."

Back towards City Hall, the odd pair was walking down the busy street simply enjoying a conversation.

"Natsu used to try every day to beat me. For like two years it went on like that until finally… I thought he'd given up, but then every now and then he surprises me." Erza crossed her arms over her chest, smiling as she reminisced over old times.

"Fairy Tail is a great guild. You found a good home." Jellal told her.

"It was only because I was led there," She corrected him, her dark eyes glancing over at him. "And it's home but it's still missing a couple of people before I think it's complete."

His eyes softened. "You know I have Crime Sorcerie now."

"And I still count you as a Fairy Tail mage." She countered lightly.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, not about to start an argument, but he couldn't help but hide a smile.

"I think you should pay up little missy."

"Hell no, I think you cheated!"

The familiar voice made the redhead turn her head, darkened gaze peering up the street to where a group of people were gathered outside of one of the restaurants. Today it looked more like a madhouse then a respectable place to eat but that was mostly because of what was going on inside.

"Is there a problem here Cana?" Erza couldn't help but step in.

The brunette turned to look at her and the other mage blanched. She was three sheets to the wind and swayed so much just from turning that Jellal had to reach out to steady her. "Erza!"

"Another friend of yours?" The group of less than reputable men eyed her over.

"We're out… bar hopping with the Raijinshu. Mira and I got into a little drinking game and the boys went on ahead… now I'm in over my head…" Cana was slurring her words all over the place.

"I'm from the same guild, actually." Erza informed them. "What does she owe? And seriously, it's 7pm on Christmas Eve! Who the hell needs an excuse to get this drunk_this_ early?"

No one had any idea if she was scolding Cana, or the men with her.

"Where's Mira?" She demanded.

"The other one is still inside." One of the men told her.

She turned to Jellal, who was practically holding Cana up. "Can you see if you can find Laxus and the others?"

"They should be three stores down at the Dark Star." The brunette hiccupped out.

"Sure." He eyed up the burly men. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Just fine." She smiled, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I'll take her and meet you in a few."

He shifted the girl onto Erza, nodded and then took off, his dark cloak flaring around him.

The redhead escorted her friend back inside where she found Mira slumped at the bar. "Erza!" The platinum blonde smiled brightly at her as she approached. "Wasn't expecting you!"

"I wasn't expecting you both to be so sloshed." Erza looked her over. "You don't seem too bad."

"Oh I'm not." Mira insisted with a big grin. "Until I stand up and the whole room spins around me."

The other woman shook her head and set Cana up in one of the high-backed chairs. "You want to explain to me what this is all about?"

"More like… you want to tell us what you were doing with _Mystogan_?" Cana snapped lightly, sweeping back her long wavy hair.

"Ooh!" Mira squeaked, sitting forward. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Erza laughed nervously.

"If it were nothing, he wouldn't be here." Cana waggled her finger at her.

Erza felt herself starting to blush.

"You're not spending the night with him…are you?" Mira teased, leaning back onto the bar.

"W-What?" Titania was instantly the same color as her hair. "No! You've had way too much-"

"I totally think she is!" Cana laughed.

That was about the time that the front door opened and the entourage of men piled in. Laxus looked severely annoyed as he ranted to Jellal, who seemed to be listening steadily. "Seriously?" He looked at the girls. "Two bars and you're already trashed?" His blue eyes narrowed. "I expected more out of you Cana."

"Hey!" She held up her hands defensively. "They made me play beer pong- with hard liquor. All bets were off!"

"Actually they were pretty high if you ask me." Erza looked up at Laxus. "It's your problem now. You might want to cut them off before your tab starts equaling the interest we owe on the guild hall."

"Why don't you two stay and have a few drinks since you're so worried?" He offered. "My treat, of course."

Erza had no intention of getting dragged into their mess. "Sorry." She said stiffly. "We have plans." She stalked past him and Jellal turned to follow.

She heard the dragon slayer let out a snort of laughter. "Yeah, I bet you do." He said suggestively. "You might want to check the door on the way out."

Her gaze lifted to the doorway as she passed through it, where a spring of mistletoe was hung with a scarlet ribbon.

Neither of them said anything as they stalked down the street toward the gathering circle in front of the dark tree.

"God they can be such assholes sometimes," She said, embarrassment finally getting the better of her.

"And here you were just speaking so highly of them." He told her.

She laughed, shaking her head. "I don't know what I was thinking! We're all just a bunch of misfits who can't make it anywhere else in the world. I shouldn't be surprised a group of them is trashing every bar in town. It wouldn't be a holiday without Fairy Tail ruining its reputation."

Fingers reached out and grabbed hers, tugging them gently until they were lying in the center of her palm. Her dark eyes lifted up to see him staring warmly at her with that soft expression he wore when he knew exactly how she was feeling.

It was moments like this that made her life feel worth it. Their whole relationship had been an uphill battle but recently it felt like they finally were standing on stable ground and could move forward together.

"Do you want to come back to my place tonight?"

The words were out of her mouth before she was even aware that she had said them. She saw him blink and those amber brown hues widened. Mira had put the thought in her head, and now she couldn't stop thinking about it. "Even if it's just for a little while." She added quickly, feeling the need to say something to clarify. "Y-You don't have to stay."

He was quiet and she got the feeling that he was trying to distance himself again, to keep up that barrier between them, the perception that they were only friends, when in reality they both knew better. She was crazy about him and she knew he felt the same but the idea of commitment was just so unreasonable right now, or at least, to him.

She tried not to let the disappointment show on her face, but her hand loosened and she pulled away from his touch, putting some space between them. "It's okay if you don't want to." She said as casually as she could manage, forcing the emotion out of her voice as she held the sting of rejection back.

"No."

His voice was soft and warm, nearly brushing her ear. She jumped, jerking her gaze over to him. He shook his head slowly. "I'd like that… very much."

She could see the blush in his face then, at the bridge of his nose and she smiled, leaning her shoulder up against his. It was another step in the right direction.

"Erza!"

The two turned to see Natsu and Lucy coming towards them, their faces aglow.

"Looks like you two had a good time." The redhead told them.

"It's been the best!" Lucy laughed, squeezing Natsu's hand in hers.

"I can agree to that." Juvia came up behind them, followed by Gray who had his hands in his pockets. "We ran into Gajeel and Levy on the way here. They said to tell you hi." She smiled.

"We just saw the Raijinshu with Cana and Mira over at one of the restaurants." Erza added.

"Fairy Tail is out in full effect tonight!" Natsu grinned. "That's what I like to see!"

All conversation was cut short when the plaza flared with light as giant bulbs sprung to life on the tall dark tree like thousands of colored stars. The sounds of cheering and screaming made the place nearly inaudible and all attention was pulled towards the center of the city.

"Merry Christmas everyone." Jellal told them.

"Another year gone." Gray nodded.

"And somehow we're still all together." Lucy rested her back against Natsu's chest.

His arms reached around her, strong and protective, wrapping around her waist. "We'll always be together."

Somehow, she got the feeling those words were meant just for her.

END


End file.
